Mike Stavrou

Mikel Arteta versus Pep Guardiola has become a boring battle of overwhelming caution The Arsenal manager and his Manchester City counterpart appear to be finding new ways to create dull games. Where is the ambition?

an article on GuardiolAI and ChatGPTeta's latest attempt to remove any hint of human creativity from their meetings
www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

Great stuff 👏

mailbag episode this week on our tactics pod. Please submit questions below 😀

The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast: Long throws & tall No.9s: The Premier League goes old school One week of the Premier League season down, 37 to go.And today we’re asking whether the English top flight has gone old school… with more long throw-ins than ever, “proper” No.9s and promot...

New pod!

The Premier League goes old school!

@michaeljbailey.bsky.social @zonal-marking.bsky.social @markcarey93.bsky.social & @liamtharme.bsky.social

pod.fo/e/3198c0

Alexander Isak’s statement has set fire to Newcastle – drawing fury but little sign of success Isak's public demand to leave might just have made things worse for everybody but that includes himself

Isak hits out & Newcastle dig in.

In attempting to force through a move, the centre-forward has hardened the club’s position and made life more difficult for himself (and everyone else).

#NUFC

www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

The Totally Football Show with James Richardson: Totally Gold 03/04: Abramovich arrives but Arsenal go Invincible Back in the summer of 2020, Jimbo and co passed the time reviewing classic Premier League campaigns.Here from the vault, we bring you the thoughts of Michael Cox, Daniel Storey and Matt Davies-Adam...

🥇TOTALLY GOLD!🥇

Today - in 2020- @acjimbo.bsky.social, @zonal-marking.bsky.social, @danielstorey85.bsky.social and @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social look back on the 03/04 season. Featuring the Invincibles, the dawn of Abramovich and Ronaldo, and the end of the PL on ITV

pod.fo/e/2f6bbf

The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast: How Cruyff inspired Ajax's rebirth Welcome to Football Architects - a summer series for The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast. Over the next five weeks, we’ll tell the stories of esteemed footballing nations and clubs, speaking to the ...

Time to introduce a series me and the Tactics team have been working on.

𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 - the unsung stories behind modern football successes.

First, Johan Cruyff’s rejuvenation of Ajax’s academy with insight from his former colleagues on why he felt the need for change.

pod.fo/e/2f4b77

The Business of Football: Why Tottenham have not been bought, and how much are Wrexham worth? UEFA and multi-club ownership, the split in Warner Bros Discovery and the football regulator also feature in this column's latest instalment

🏷️ Spurs’ owners have been open to offers for ages…so what’s going on?
⭐️ Wrexham valuation vs “key person risk”
📺 What does the WBD split mean for TNT Sports & football fans?
💶 Drogheda Utd, Crystal Palace & UEFA
😎 Independent Regulator nears summer sign-off

www.nytimes.com/athletic/643...

My 34-hour ferry trip to the Europa League final: Singing Angels, a pub quiz and dreaming of dry land Jack Pitt-Brooke joined Spurs and Man United fans on the slow route to Bilbao. All was well, until the quiz

I wanted a profound experience on my way to the Europa League final.

I spent 34 hours on a ferry.

My piece: www.nytimes.com/athletic/636...

Producer Mike has had a go, please don't be mean to me 😆

Find out who the actual experts picked tomorrow!

Tomorrow the Tactics pod brings you a classic: Alternative Team of The Season!

One player from every club in the bottom half of the table plus one wildcard - send us your suggestions below 👇

How can anyone not like football. Unbelievable game of contrasting styles. So much quality on show but so much spirit as well.

The Athletic FC Podcast: How do Arsenal hit back in Paris? Arsenal have it all to do in Paris after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.So how did Luis Enrique’s PSG get the better of the Gunners?And can Arsenal stage a...

Post-PSG discussion. A cathartic one.

pod.fo/e/2ced1e

Jakub Kiwior absolutely flawless at the Bernabeu, pretty incredible stuff especially given his performance in this competition vs Bayern last year.

I could cry 😭

The Champions League does it again, drama of the highest order.

PSG should’ve really seen that out at 5-1 up on aggregate and Donnarumma kept them in it.

This is really the tournament of comebacks 😟

This has to be one of the most entertaining yet effective sides of the last decade.

On the ball they have threats all over the pitch and when they lose it their counter press is ridiculous.

YouTube video by The Athletic FC Podcast How PSG became Champions League favourites

Not one, but two pieces of PSG content for you ahead of the Villa match tonight.

Tactics video with Alex Barker & Liam Tharme: youtu.be/vB5AzIuR_cU?...

And Athletic FC Podcast with Ayo Akinwolere, Tom Williams & Dermot Corrigan focusing on Luis Enrique: pod.fo/e/2c4c8a

Enjoy!

PSG single-handedly battling robotic football by having the best 1vs1 wingers all on the pitch at the same time. Delightful.

Jam-packed TAFC pod for you today…

What makes a talisman and is the concept still relevant in 2025?

The dangers of being over-reliant on a star player

With @aakinwo.bsky.social @markcarey93.bsky.social @philhay.bsky.social and more!

pod.fo/e/2b4f02

London drenched in sunlight is literally a different place. I’ve just seen someone who’s not in a pub smile!

Football can be… fun? 😅

Declan Rice having time to receive the ball in the box, take a few touches then get a cross in is crazyyyyy

Time and space you get in this competition vs the Premier League tells you all you need to know about the disparity between England’s top flight and the other leagues

Really enjoyed this today. Go and give it a listen!

My soul is craving beautiful football, but it’s hard to have beautiful football AND success, as we’ve discovered.

How data and AI is shaping football Podcast Episode · The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast · 02/20/2025 · 45m

Our chat with Paul Power of SkillCorner is LIVE!

- How do clubs use data to recruit managers and players?
- What metrics are used in player analysis?
- Have other sports influenced football?
- What is the role of AI in analysis?

Enjoy!

pod.fo/e/2af8f8

Get your questions in so I don't have to answer @markposts.bsky.social 😆

We've got a special guest in the studio tomorrow Mr @counterattack9.bsky.social from Skillcorner!

Any data questions for him or the panel, let us know!

My Arsenal-Spurs schadenfreude extends to your train updates ❤️

Why Florian Wirtz is the world’s best player at finding space between the lines Not since the rise of Mesut Ozil has European football witnessed a No 10 so intelligent and selfless with his movement as Leverkusen's Wirtz

Florian Wirtz missed a huge late chance at Bayern on Saturday; the Bundesliga title race is probably over. But he's the best around at finding space between the lines, and given the speed/compactness of the modern game, one of the best I've ever seen in that respect.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/613...